Planning is not just for planners

Kitsap County planners are beginning to plan for how they will develop the next county plan.

In a meeting Wednesday, Kitsap County commissioners agreed with Larry Keeton and his planning team that a greater number of county residents, young and old, should become involved in shaping the future of their communities.

Keeton, director of the county’s Department of Community Development, said he would like to hire more staff next year to work on the plan rather than contracting the project to outside consultants. Local planners understand the issues better, he said, and they will be better able to make sure the plan gets carried out.

Although the planning will officially get underway in January, Keeton said the need for planning staff to undertake the next big project should be part of the upcoming budget discussions.

State law requires Kitsap and nine other counties to update their countywide comprehensive plans by June 30, 2016. King, Pierce and Snohomish counties must be done by June 30, 2015. The law includes specific studies that must be conducted and elements that must be updated, including critical areas ordinance, forestland protection and development regulations.

Whether counties will receive planning dollars from the state depends on ongoing budget discussions in the Legislature. The original House budget included grants for county planning; the Senate budget did not.

In the past, comprehensive plan updates have led to major changes in development patterns, including the expansion of high-density zoning into previously rural areas. As a result of court orders, urban growth areas in Kitsap County were reduced by 20 percent in 2012, and population estimates may not justify any expansions this time around, officials say.

County Commissioner Josh Brown said the recent rejection of Silverdale incorporation suggests that people are generally satisfied with the urban services they are getting from the county. Finding ways to better serve the urban growth areas of Silverdale and Kingston should be part of the effort, he said.

Brown said he would like the planners to focus on creating “vibrant waterfront communities,” because people feel a strong connection to the water. Connecting trails to the waterfront for public access is one idea, he said.

County Commissioner Charlotte Garrido said the planners should consider carefully how to engage with average people.

“In 1978, when I first moved to Kitsap, every neighborhood had meetings around the county,” she said. “It was fun to have conversations (about planning) with people you already knew.”

People should be sharing ideas about the future of their own communities, she said, and people need to know that their ideas are being heard and incorporated into the county’s overall plan.

County Commissioner Rob Gelder said new community organizations can play a role in the process.

“We need to look beyond the usual suspects and groups,” he said. “There are a bunch of groups focused on livability, and we need to look beyond county-sanctioned groups.”

Social media and new technology may be used to engage younger people, said Doug Bear, communications manager for the county.

Students in school now will be affected by the upcoming planning efforts, which will create a vision for the next 20 years, so it might be good to hear what young people want for the future of Kitsap County, the commissioners agreed.

Kitsap County also needs to be prepared to deal with an aging population, as the last of the baby boomers reach retirement age, said planner Katrina Knutson. Keeping seniors in their homes, finding places for assisted-living facilities and ensuring adequate transportation should be addressed in the next plan, she said.